Japanese industrial conglomerate Asahi Kasei Corp. has made an offer to acquire Swedish rare diseases specialist Calliditas Therapeutics AB for SEK11.8 billion (US$1.1 billion). The offer, at an 83% premium to the closing share price of SEK113.60 on Monday, May 27, is recommended by the three biggest shareholders and the board of Calliditas, which said the company would benefit from “being part of a larger platform.”

Cambridge, U.K.-based Astrazeneca plc is looking to Asia, specifically China and Singapore, to build an innovative cancer-focused pipeline filled with antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and cell therapies.

Shanghai- and San Diego-based Degron Therapeutics Inc. secured a potential $1.2 billion deal with Tokyo-headquartered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. May 23 for a multitarget collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement for molecular glue degraders. “It is a breakthrough technology in the small-molecule drug discovery field,” Degron CEO Lily Zou told BioWorld. “People talk about cell and gene therapy, but small molecules are still the mainstream of drug discovery, [with] more reach.”

In a deal worth up to $1.8 billion, Biogen Inc. is buying Human Immunology Biosciences Inc. (Hibio), bolstering its late-stage immune-disease treatment portfolio and diversifying its pipeline. The massive amount comprises $1.15 billion up front and as much as $650 in potential milestone payments. The deal in rare diseases brings Biogen phase III-ready felzartamab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that selectively depletes CD38-positive plasma cells and natural killer cells. Hibio also is developing izastobart, an anti-C5aR1 antibody. Both assets were in-licensed from Morphosys AG in June 2022. Hibio also has mast cell programs in the discovery stage.

The radiopharmaceutical revolution rolls on as Eli Lilly and Co. builds on its prowess in the space with a deal that could bring Aktis Oncology Inc. $1.1 billion. The two plan to develop radiopharmaceuticals targeting cancer. Privately held Aktis also is getting $60 million in cash up front along with an equity investment. The big money would come from preclinical, clinical, regulatory, commercial milestones and tiered royalties. Lilly will select the targets.

Shaking up corporate and pipeline structure, San Diego-based cancer developer Erasca Inc. in-licensed two assets from China-based biopharmas in all-cash deals, while laying off 18% of its workforce, primarily in drug discovery. The flurry of announcements made on May 16, which included $160 million raised in private placement, showed that Erasca would scrap three existing pipeline assets – ERAS-007, ERAS-801 and ERAS-4 – and reshape development to a RAS-targeting franchise.

Johnson & Johnson is adding to its dermatology portfolio with the $850 million purchase of privately held Proteologix Inc. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company brings with it two bispecific antibodies into a space dominated by the blockbuster injectable Dupixent (dupilumab). Proteologix has PX-128, which targets IL-13 plus thymic stromal lymphopoietin for treating moderate to severe atopic dermatitis and moderate to severe asthma, and PX-130, which also targets IL-13 plus IL-22, for treating moderate to severe AD. Both are in preclinical development, but Johnson & Johnson said PX-128 is ready for its phase I close-up.